Rise of the Reds Timeline/Part 4
Rise of The Reds 2041 * After almost a decade in hiding, the re-armed, reunited and re-organised GLA rises in Central Africa under the leadership of Anwar Sulaymaan. What starts out as a series of attacks on Russian forces in South Sudan soon escalates into a theater-wide insurrection. Elements of the German 10th Panzerdivision mount an unauthorized diversionary attack to relieve the Russians but are called back by high command for acting without official orders. The Federation, still weakened by its costly victory over the PPA, suffers heavy losses and is forced to hurriedly abandon its African territories. Russian national pride takes a major blow and economic development comes to a crashing hold. For the first time in his extended presidency, Suvorov sees himself threatened by dissent and opposition. The government begins to channel aggression onto 'European traitors'. 2042 * A Russian expeditionary force enters South America on request of the struggling SAP in a haphazard attempt to restore confidence in the military and acquire new trading opportunities. The rebel uprisings are crushed within a year by pure brutality. The SAP rewards Russia with plentiful resources and the privilege to set up military installations in South America, but the economic stimulus manifests itself in baby-steps. 2043 * A malfunctioning Solaris satellite crashes in the Alaskan wilderness, near the city of Anchorage. Russian Spetsnaz and French 2e REP paratroopers are dispatched to recover and scuttle the wreckage respectively. A brief three-way skirmish ensues when elements of the Alaska National Guard arrive to investigate. The following diplomatic battle severely damages the already-strained relationships between Russia, Europe, and the US. 2044 * Russia goes through one of the hottest, most dry summers in its recent history, resulting in large forest fires and a near-total country-wide crop failure. Government officials openly blame European Solaris satellites, calling them 'a nefarious weapon of mass destruction in the guise of a power source'. European politicians dismiss the claims as 'ridiculous slander' and blame Russia’s heavy reliance on coal and oil as a major contributor to climate change. Meanwhile, SAP-cooperation fails to revitalize the Russian economy. Hunger revolts and violent clashes between Russians and Chinese immigrants in the Far East threaten national unity. Suvorov orders preparations for 'national self-defence', boosting armor and aircraft reserves to several thousand. State propaganda puts the population into a fighting frenzy while the military is ordered on high-alert. Suvorov declares that the coming events will either make or break the future of the Russian nation. 2045 * Russian Shock Trooper forces raid and sabotage a Federation missile base in Kaliningrad while posing as European special forces. President Suvorov, who personally ordered General Aleksandr to stage the false flag operation, blames the ECA and uses the incident as a pretense to declare all-out war on Europe. On the same day, Russian air armadas launch a massive series of raids, destroying most of the European air assets in their hangars while the ground forces launch a full-scale invasion. Whereas the fighting in Scandinavia and the Baltic Sea is initially fierce, the ECA’s easternmost ally Ukraine, as well as neutral Hungary and Slovakia fall within a matter of days, allowing Russia’s armies to sweep into Central Europe en masse. 2046 *By February, the Russian invasion reaches Berlin. ECAN is taken off the air and re-purposed as an outlet for Russian propaganda in the occupied territories of Europe. Retired Captain Frank Jaeger organizes an insurgency against the Russian occupation of Berlin and declares a personal war on General Aleksandr. * By August, Russian forces enter the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxemburg. General Willem van der Meer enacts a desperate area denial strategy, resulting in the flooding of the Dutch countryside after the population had been evacuated. * The Russian aircraft carrier "Peter the Great" is destroyed without warning by a pillar of focused sunlight, confirming allegations that the European Solaris network can be weaponized. 2047 * Russian forces enter Paris half a year later than initially planned. The fighting grinds to a stalemate in central France. * In September, British and Commonwealth forces repel an amphibious invasion at the coast of England. * By October, General Aleksandr becomes personally aware of Frank Jaeger's resistance operation and orders a harsh crackdown on the population of Berlin. 2048 * Having run out of alternatives, French President Jean-Philippe Marmont orders the use of tactical nuclear weapons against the Russian forces. Over a dozen neutron bombs are detonated along the front between Bordeaux and Toulouse, resulting in the death of over three hundred thousand Russian soldiers. General Aleksandr is outraged and calls for the extermination of Europe, prompting President Suvorov to issue the clearance to deploy Russia's own nuclear weapons to General Leonid Zhukov instead. Further calls by Aleksandr to launch a pre-emptive strategic strike on the Americas to ensure the United States can't interfere are swiftly shot down by Suvorov, who angrily tells the general he will not be the one who sends mankind to extinction. * In June, US President William Bradford calls Congress to authorize the use of military force against the Russian Federation, citing America's geopolitical responsibilities and Russian war crimes as his justification to support the ECA. The authorization is granted, and the United States declares war on Russia. With the move, the war is officially declared World War III by the United Nations. * In the hours following the commencement of hostilities between the United States and Russia, major population centers begin preliminary evacuation as US and European nuclear arsenals stand ready to retaliate in the event of Federation First strike as the particle and laser defense system are moved to alert status. President Suvorov informs Bradford and ECA prime minister Norman Fritzgerald that he has no desire to launch his ICBMs on the American nor at major population centers in Europe, and Bradford says the same, agreeing that it would be better if they didn't. Nevertheless, the Air Force Global Strike Command remains in a launch-on-warning stance throughout the war, and NASA and the ESA begin accelerating the launch of Killsats and missile defense systems to Earth orbit. Cape Canerval is the site of hurrid activity as satillates are launched as soon as possible. * Operation Blue Trident. A US Navy task force led by the USS Spirit of Freedom Mobile Offshore Base engages Russian forces near the Azores. Airstrikes by the USAF and US Naval Aviation prove effective in strangling off Russian supply lines. * Operation Pope's Revenge. Frank Jaeger teams up with a group of US Navy SEALs to assassinate Nikita Aleksandr in Berlin. The General narrowly escapes the attempt. * Operation Backbreaker. US Marines led by General Jeremiah Bradley storm the French Mediterranean coast near Marseille to relieve the Europeans. * Operation Sunscreen. Russian airborne forces stationed in Brazil seize control of the ESA space center in French Guiana. They attempt to gain temporary access to the Solaris network and use one of the satellites to fire an energy burst on the USS Spirit of Freedom, damaging the vessel. A joint force of the British SAS, Royal Marines, and Parachute Regiment is dispatched to re-route control of the satellites to mainland Europe and scuttle the facilities. * European special forces armed with experimental Venom exo-suits mount an incursion in occupied Scandinavia to destroy a network of Russian radar facilities. Allowing US bombers free reign into the heart of European Russia, as American B2 and B21 bombers begin to arrive over major cities. * By the end of the year, Chinese forces start massing on the border, potentially threatening the Russian Far-East District in the event of a military escalation or further ethnic clashes. President Suvorov and Prime Minister Valentina Baranova conclude that an exit strategy is required. 2049 * Several low-yield nuclear weapons strike military facilities. NORAD defenses continue to maintain high alert in order to defend against ICBMs launched against the US mainland or Western Europe. * The European armies reclaim the initiative and proceed to drive the Russian forces out of France after the Battle of Paris, linking up with a sizeable US/Commonwealth contingent in the Low Countries. In February, the USS Spirit of Independence, a Pacific-based MOB, is dispatched to join a series of fleet exercises alongside the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Forces outside Russian waters. * Operation Charlemagne: Joint ECA/US forces launches the final counter-offensive against the Russian Federation, as armies mass in Germany and Aleksandr fortifies Berlin. Several Russian generals, including Yevgeny Orlov, start to question Aleksandr's leadership, and even President Suvorov thinks the war needs to end. * European forces enter Berlin with American air support, poised to liberate the city in a matter of hours. As Russian defensive positions collapse, General Orlov is unable to establish contact with Aleksandr. Upon witnessing a Shock Trooper leading a number of conscripts into a hopeless fight and executing those who fled, Orlov cripples the man and leaves him to be executed by European forces. He then orders his second-in-command to either fall back or surrender, before heading to Aleksandr's command post to confront him personally. Category:Rise of the Reds Timeline